No, Cheese Is Not Really 'Like Cocaine'

If you’re looking for an excuse to wolf down that double-cheese pizza for lunch, you may have found it in a news story that’s gone viral. Among the headlines: “Cheese Is as Addictive as Cocaine,” “Cheese Really Is Crack,” and “Study Finds That Cheese Is Just as Addictive as Drugs.”

Researchers at the University of Michigan asked participants to report which foods in a list were most difficult to cut down on or eat in a controlled way.

Not surprisingly, highly processed foods with added fat and refined carbohydrates—things like ice cream, French fries, cookies, chips and cake—topped the list. Cheese ranked somewhere in the middle; it was considered less addictive than sugary, processed foods but more so than steak, eggs, bananas, and broccoli.